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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. game — a match
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. race — a contest
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. race — humankind
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. race — the arms race
  24. prune — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com